Colonel: Iraqi security improving
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Col. Bill Adams, deputy commander and chief of staff of the U.S. Army Operational Test Command at Fort Hood, spoke to the Lampasas Kiwanis Club recently about progress in Iraq. He also explained OTC's mission and its testing process.

Infrastructure and security are improving in Iraq, Col. Bill Adams said during a presentation Wednesday to the Lampasas Kiwanis Club.

"The Iraqis themselves are now taking responsibility for their country," he said.

Adams, the deputy commander and chief of staff on the U.S. Army Operational Test Command at Fort Hood, returned April 22, 2007, from his second tour in Iraq. He has toured most of the country, including the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. Adams also has served in Afghanistan.

In his presentation, Adams explained the purpose of the OTC, commented on developments in Iraq, and answered questions about OTC testing and the ongoing war effort.

The colonel believes Iraqis are trying to craft a successful representative government, even though they have no real history of free elections. About 90 percent of eligible voters participated in a recent national election, Adams said.

"I was there that day, and it was one of the calmest days in Iraq," he said.

Adams admitted he doubts Iraq ever will form a political system as stable as that of the United States, because Iraqis never have lived in a truly free country with representation. Eliminating sectarian violence will remain a significant challenge, he said.

Nevertheless, the Army official said living conditions, especially electric infrastructure, have improved.

The demand for electricity is increasing, Adams said. Early in the war, seeing city lights at night was rare, added. When he flew over the countryside at night during his second tour, however, the colonel could see lights from Baghdad to Tikrit, about 85 miles northwest of the capital.

In addition, Kurds are developing businesses in the semiautonomous region called Kurdistan Province, Adams said. They have worked diligently to secure their region against sectarian violence.

"The Kurds took a lot of pride, and they are getting things in order," he said.

Adams, a Lampasas resident, deployed with III Corps to Iraq and served as inspector general for Multi-National Corps - Iraq. Previously, he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for six months as the Army Test and Evaluation Command team leader.

OTC, which employs more than 8,600 -- including 4,140 civilians and about 4,000 government contractors -- provides independent testing for military vehicles, equipment and combat systems.

After developmental testing, OTC evaluates the results and then involves soldiers in operational tests to determine how well equipment would work under actual combat conditions.

Contractors and soldiers often initiate technological improvements, Adams said, as with armor and devices designed to provide protection from explosives. Soldiers also suggested equipping trucks with mowers to cut down the reeds many insurgents use for cover along the roadsides.

Adams also discussed artillery technology. Mobile Gun Systems -- three-man, automatic-loading armored fighting vehicles -- provide effective firepower and mobility, and have been popular with troops, he said.

"The soldiers are happy with it," he said. "It gives them firepower in the city. The infantry likes it."

Despite advances in weaponry, however, the soldier remains the Army's most valuable asset, Adams said.

"You can have all the technology you want, but it's the soldier on the ground who keeps you safe," he said.

"You can bomb a hill, and you can observe it all you want, but until you have a soldier on that hill you don't own it."